My biggest struggle with a nomadic lifestyle when I first hit the road over 3 years ago was a deep sense of loss of community. I was leaving a community in Florida that I had invested in for over 10 years. There’s something uniquely special about a local, re-occurring community. Those people you can contact in the middle of the day with an invitation to join you for dinner or soaking in the hot tub or gaming. That immediate gratification of having people around, to be around, when you feel called to human interaction.

Being on the move constantly seemingly doesn’t leave a lot of time to form bonds – especially if you hold onto your old models of what community needs to looks like. When you’re in a town for a week or even a month, it’s difficult to first of all meet people (well, at least for us introverts it is) – let alone put the energy into forming long lasting friendships.

So my first year on the road I was missing the community I had in Florida. And my needs for community were not getting refilled as we were never in one place long enough to invest the time necessary. Every new interaction seemed to be surface level, always covering the same topics of conversation.

I used to say that lack of community would likely tempt me off the road eventually.

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Each of us needs to find our own balance that combines exploring the world with preserving it. And if you stay conscious to your consumption, you don’t have to compromise your wanderlust for your desire to live a sustainable life.